I started with the motherboard, naturally. Actually, unnaturally. Motherboards aren’t natural. They are abominations to nature. But damn are they sweet. Anyway, I put my mobo in there and use the provided screws to hold it in place.
All the screw retainers were already pre-fitted for me so I didn’t have to do much work there. Just stick it in and screw… er… em. Okay, now I put in the PSU. It’s a big bulky thing that weighs about 75lbs. Went in like butter baby.
And now came the HD. Okay, there are little plastic fittings where the screws should go. This is the tool-less drive system. Just put the HD in the chassis, align the screw holes, and twist the lock on the side and the drive is secure. Nice. Beats the hell out of shoving screwdrivers in there. I hate having to hold onto those little screws.
I got the rest of the components installed just as quickly and proceeded to boot up my new Panzer Tank by opening the front door and pressing the button. I close it back and it’s back to black. I’m liking this craftsmanship so far. I let it sit for a while and warm up. The temp inside the room is usually a steady 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Get it too hot in here and all the posters start turning in at the edge. Would you want that to happen to your autographed poster of Vanilla Ice? I think not.
With all the airflow this case has, two installed 120mm fans and the option to stick a directly cooling CPU fan in the window, not to mention my Evercool Transformer 6 heatsink, I would say there is adequate cooling. But the proof is in the pudding, so I guess I had better take some measurements. I gotta look professional here. I used a program called Core Temp to take the PC’s temperature. After close to an hour I was getting a reading of 69 degrees Celsius on the inside of my case. The core temp of my CPU was 27 degrees Celsius. That is a drop of close to ten degrees for both readings.
Now, I’m not saying that this case is the sole reason for the great cooling. The fans themselves are a huge factor here. 120 mm fans provide a torrent of airflow if they are placed correctly. But the interior design also allows for great airflow too, because everything is out of the way and gives fresh cool air direct access to major components.
Putting versatility and looks aside, this is the kind of thing you should be looking for when you get a new case. And construction is a major factor as well. This one is made of steel. You see what I’m getting at here? Don’t buy a case simply for its looks. A lot of cases out there are like hot super models. They look absolutely gorgeous, but can’t seem to perform the slightest task efficiently. No offense models. Well, yeah, I guess there is offense. But it’s all for the greater good.
